The life of Miss Elizabeth Summerscale
by KatexW
Summary: Elizabeth Summerscale, aspiring artist and daughter of a ferocious lion...well okay, buisnessman. With the disappearance of her mother stirring things up, can Elizabeth fight to stay with the love of her life?


**A/N: This is a totally random story that I started writing a while back; just thought I would publish it to see if I should carry on writing it. Thank you to Miss Jane Austen for inspiring me to write my own romance story. :D**

**Chapter 1**

Elizabeth Summerscale added some colour to her sketch of the garden tulips as the sun rose up in the frosty morning sky. This was the only time she could escape from the ruff and tumbles of her merry younger brothers and sisters. This was perfect silence. She carefully dabbed the watercolour onto her paintbrush and began to add the fine strokes of pink onto the paper. Elizabeth, or Lizzie as she was best known, loved how the paper would crumple and curl at the hands of the water. Lizzie was considered as strangely handsome for being only nine and ten; her dark brown eyes showed her innocence, but for others, were thought to be quite mysterious. She had the soft, glowing complexion of her mother and the dark, chestnut hair of her father; which effortlessly flowed down her back.

Lizzie hadn't much sleep since her mother disappeared a few weeks ago, and it was starting to show. Her eyes looked heavy, when they were not filled with tears that is, and she has never been bothered to do the fine intricate plaiting of her hair. Instead, she used a discoloured ribbon off one of her younger sisters, Eleanor's, doll. No one has spoken much since then, mainly because there is not much they can say apart from comfort and their condolences for each other. Some gossip in the town of Chesterton has accused Mrs Summerscale of having an affair with the town baker, while others say that she was murdered by her husband. Lizzie sincerely hoped that she had had an affair, although the baker wasn't quite much to look at in the first place. She tried not to show her pain and discomfort so she could be stronger for the younger children. The only person she confided her troubles with was Cathy, who was the only mature one out of her sisters for being the age of ten and six. Cathy had her mother's blonde hair, which was shorter than Lizzie's, but she was equally handsome. Eleanor was much the same as Cathy but she had jade green eyes and broader shoulders. She also had a darker complexion than Cathy or Lizzie. Eleanor was the youngest of the family at the age of ten. Frederick was the oldest brother of ten and eight, and was the businessman of the family; which helped to support his father. He worked as a photographer and always asked Lizzie for her opinion on each of his photographs before he sold them. Mr Summerscale didn't approve of this carer choice, as he thought art and photography were a waste of time and money. He hoped that Frederick would take over the family business in the clothing industry, but only Charles was interested in factory work. Charles was only a year younger than Frederick but he found it hard to gain trust from his father as he was a foolish young man. He was too much in society and never kept any promises to their father.

Lizzie gathered her sketchbook and began to walk through the ivy arch. As she got nearer to the house, she noticed a black carriage at the front gate. Lizzie knew what this meant. Her mother and father had been trying to find a suitable husband so she could settle in a comfortable home; and by comfortable, they meant extremely wealthy. A lot of suitable men had introduced themselves to Lizzie but none of them were good enough for her; mainly because they were rude and arrogant. Now that her mother had gone, her father had been willing Lizzie to find a husband as soon as possible. Before she had a chance to hide in the gardens, Mr Summerscale called her to the house.

"Lizzie", her father bellowed across the gardens.

"Coming, she replied". Lizzie made her way through the flowers and followed the stone path up to the house. She entered the sitting room and noticed two gentlemen sitting beside her father. The first man looked very round, and was quite small with dimples in his cheeks; the second was rather tall and looked too frail to be considered a well looking gentleman. Then she noticed him. Standing behind the two men was a tall, fair haired gentleman. His eyes were a glistening sapphire and his cheekbones sculpted his perfect face and smile. Lizzie's heart sank; and there it was, the first time she ever saw Arthur Newman.

"Sit down and introduce yourself", Mr Summerscale said sternly. He explained that Mr Beecham and his son, Edward, were here to discuss wedding arrangements.

"But I ... ", stumbled Lizzie.

"Nonsense", her father interrupted, "Mr Beecham will provide you with a very comfortable lifestyle in Kent"

"Kent!" Lizzie exclaimed. At this point, she couldn't take it anymore. She finally found the courage to tell her father that she would never marry, and if she ever did, it would be for love; not even if he was the richest man in Britain! Lizzie could feel the piercing eyes of Edward and Mr Beecham glaring at her as she sat back down on the satin- cushioned chair.

"It looks as though we are not wanted here, Edward, call the horsemen, we must leave at once", said Mr Beecham aggressively. Both gentlemen immediately stood up and left the room, closing the wood door with a loud thud. For some strange reason, Lizzie did not feel the slightest bit guilty. As a matter of fact, she was quite pleased with herself.

"Before you storm out the door, I would like you to meet our new Gardener, Arthur Newman", Mr Summerscale said quietly. "I would like you to show him around the gardens since you waste most of your time there."

Lizzie had noticed by the sound of her father's voice that he was disappointed in her; as she walked out the back door with Arthur by her side. His presence next to her made her body tremble, and she found trouble getting the right words out. His hair glowed in the summer sun, and there it was again; the twinkle in his enchanting eyes.

**A/N: Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you xx**


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